Mountain Removal in Appalachia

Claire Durkin
November 14, 2011

Introduction

Coal burning is the most widely used method of
generating electricity, accounting for about 51% of total U.S.
electricity production in 2008. [1] An important energy resource, coal
is formed by the compression of organic material underneath the weight
of overlying sediment for hundreds of millions of years. [2] Deposits
lie deep underground and must be mined to obtain coal for use as a
fossil fuel. In the United States, 70% of all coal is obtained through
surface mining. [3] To date, over 500 mountains have been leveled in a
form of surface mining called mountaintop removal, representing 1500
square miles or an area roughly the size of Rhode Island. [4] This
widespread use of mountaintop removal mining is concerning because of
the technique's serious environmental, economic, and health
implications.

What Is Mountaintop Removal Mining?

Mountaintop removal is a type of surface mining,
where the summit or summit ridge of a mountain is removed to expose
underlying coal reserves. Explosives blow away layers of rock and dirt
called overburden, which is transferred into nearby valleys for storage.
Uncovered coal seams are excavated and sent to plants for processing.
This method of removing overburden and harvesting coal seams is repeated
multiple times to reach deep coal deposits, causing large topographical
changes to the mountain range. Once coal excavation is completed,
mountains are regraded to resemble their natural states. [5]

Economics

The use of mountaintop removal has been driven by its
efficiency and cost-effectiveness as compared to other forms of coal
mining. The explosive extraction methods of mountaintop removal produce
about three times as much coal per worker than traditional underground
mines. In 2008, the production per underground miner was 3.15 short tons
per hour, in contrast to 9.82 per surface miner. [3] Large, expensive
labor forces have been replaced with cheaper explosive and machinery
costs, which have incentivized the increased use of mountaintop removal
over the past 30 years. [6,7] While economically beneficial for coal
companies, mountaintop removal's efficiency has led to mining job
losses, particularly in areas where the technique is most used. One
example is Kentucky, where the number of miners has decreased from
47,190 people in 1979 to 15,522 in 2004, despite increased coal
production levels. [8,9]

Fig. 2: An explosive blast at a mountaintop removal
mining site in Eunice, West Virginia. Source:
Wikimedia
Commons

Environmental Impacts

The environmental effects of mountaintop removal
include water contamination, air pollution, decreased plant and animal
life, and landscape changes.

Mountaintop removal begins with stripping an area of
all vegetation and removing the upper portion of a mountain. [5]
Although sediment is replaced on the excavation site once mining is
complete, the former mountain cannot accurately be recreated and is
essentially leveled. Topographic changes alter water flow and limit
plant growth for years after a mining site has been closed. Mountaintop
removal has been correlated with decreased biodiversity and studies
demonstrate that it leads to increased runoff from the soil. [7] Runoff,
contamination by explosives, and chemicals involved in surface mining
pollute waterways, leading to increased sulfate, magnesium, calcium,
bicarbonate, and heavy metal levels. [10] Selenium is well above toxic
levels and accumulates in algae, fish, and other bio-aquatic organisms.
[7] Surface mining also pollutes both ambient and work zone air
quality, increasing total suspended particulate matter, respirable
particulate matter, and benzene soluble matter. [11]

Health Concerns

Mountaintop removal mining is correlated with high
incidence of chronic and acute health problems. It has been hypothesized
that contaminated water and hazardous dust from this form of surface
mining are the cause of increased health risk.

Birth defects in Appalachian counties using
mountaintop coal removal are higher than in counties using other
mining-techniques or in non-mining counties, including elevated
incidence of circulatory, respiratory, central nervous system,
musculoskeletal, gastrointestinal, and urogenital defects. [12] Adult
chronic pulmonary disease, hypertension, heart disease, kidney disease,
and mortality increase by county as a function of increasing coal
production. [13] Cancer rates are higher in areas with mountaintop
removal compared to areas without. [7] Measures of health-related
quality of life demonstrate that mountaintop mining areas are associated
with the greatest reductions in physical, mental, and activity
limitation, and self-reported health compared to areas with other forms
of mining. [14]

Conclusion

Mountaintop removal mining has serious health,
environmental, and local economic impacts for the Appalachian region.
Inexpensive coal retrieval should not come at the expense human life or
devastating ecological consequences. Therefore, a shift toward more
sustainable mining practices is necessary in the coming years.